Andrew Laming (Bowman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Would the Treasurer inform the House how changes to the Morrison government's instant asset write-off are helping businesses in commercial areas like Cleveland, Capalaba, Victoria Point and Thorneside in my electorate of Bowman get to the other side of this pandemic?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bowman for his question and I acknowledge his extensive experience in the medical sphere as a specialist before coming to this place. On 12 March we extended the instant asset write-off for acquisitions, goods, machinery and other equipment purchased from a business—which was then up to $30,000—to $150,000. We also increased the eligibility under that program from businesses with a turnover of up to $50 million to businesses with a turnover of up to $500 million.

Yesterday, I was in Eden-Monaro with our candidate, Fiona Kotvojs, and Senator Cash and Senator Molan to announce a six-month extension of that program at a cost of $300 million. There are 3½ million businesses that will be eligible for this program: over 1.1 million businesses in New South Wales, nearly a million businesses in Victoria, 690,000 businesses in the great state of Queensland, 360,000 businesses in Western Australia, 250,000 businesses in South Australia, 65,000 businesses in Tasmania, 45,000 here in the ACT and 20,000 in the Northern Territory. They will be the beneficiaries of this extended instant asset write-off.

The government's announcement yesterday was warmly welcomed by the sector. The Australian Trucking Association CEO, Ben Maguire, and the Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia CEO, Todd Hacking, who I spoke to today, said that this extension 'will enable trucking businesses to invest in safer equipment and support the industry supplier'. The Federation Chamber of Automotive Industries said this will help support their operations through continued investment in business assets. The Council of Small Business said they're pleased about the extension. The Motor Traders Association warmly welcomed it. The Australian Chamber of Commerce said it was really welcome news. What matters most is what is happening on the ground. Mick, with his Certified Roofing business in Capalaba in Brisbane, with five staff and a number of subbies on the books, said he used it for three super twin cab diesel utes. Mick said, 'The instant asset write-off has given me the confidence to turn over three vehicles immediately and get our teams back on the road.' That's what we're doing—getting the Australian economy back on the road.